So far we have talked about the reasons why (and why not) to go into management, how to talk to your manager and upper management to put yourself in the running for the role, and how to develop management skills while still crushing your quota. Now… You’ve got the interview. So let’s talk about how to set yourself apart from the competition.

Mindset

Be confident. If you have done all of the things we’ve discussed in the last few weeks, you should have conviction in your reasons for wanting to go into management, you should have some support from your manager and other members of the leadership team, and you should have a deep and intimate understanding of the process and how to use it. Bring all of that to the table and be confident in your ability. Don’t worry who else you’re competing with and just focus on your preparation and mindset.Be confident. You got this.

Your Plan

Come prepared. You have spent the past few weeks and months preparing for this interview through your actions and extra effort. Throughout the process, you should have been checkin in with your management team to analyze how they are doing their job and asking them for advice on how they structure their weeks, months, and quarters. If you have not done that, now is a great time to do that.You don’t have to reinvent the wheel here. Most managers will have very similar ways of doing things because it works. Compare and contrast the advice and insight you get and make it fit how you operate. Once you have a good outline of how to structure your team, make a 30/60/90 day plan. You don’t need to write a novel. It should be simple to understand but detailed enough to demonstrate that you have all of the bases covered. Be prepared to talk about the plan in more detail and explain your strategy and reasoning.Remember that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

The Interview Process

Interviewers want to be impressed and managers need to demonstrate the ability to command attention and lead people. Don’t just walk into the interview, hand them your resume and sit back and wait for questions. This is no different than any other sales opportunity - you need to take command and sell yourself.Know how much time you have on the clock, build rapport quickly and take over. “I know we don’t have a ton of time. I put together this 30/60/90 plan that I’d like to go over with you that should answer a lot of your questions and anything that’s left over, we can cover on the back end. Sound good?” Use that line and take over. Ask check in questions throughout the pitch and make sure you are keeping people engaged and captivated.By taking over, you are demonstrating that you have the ability to take control of a situation. You also get to keep the ball in your court and control the direction of the conversation. Highlight areas you feel demonstrate the most value. Make sure you tell stories about how you have worked with leadership and members of your team or other peers.Lastly, I know literally hundreds of people in management positions and on leadership teams and almost no one got the job on their first pass at it. If you don’t get the job, be humble, be thankful for the opportunity and ask for feedback. This feedback is the map for areas you can improve the next time and have a better opportunity to get the role. Leaders need to have a lot of emotional strength, integrity, humility, adaptability and character. Whether you get the job or you don’t, this is an opportunity to show those characteristics.---How to get buy-in internally - blog post from me on HooplaBlack at Work - Anti-Racism Webinar from the Sales Success SummitThe Revenue Diaries Podcast w/ Kyle Lacy of Lessonly